Sort Contiguous Columns - Danger

[WCM]

I am working on an Excel 2000 VBA project. The users of the main sheet in
this workbook complain that sometimes users will inadvertently sort only the
first few columns of the sheet so that the data in the sheet gets
"discombobulated" - the data in the sorted columns no longer relates properly
to the data in the other, non-sorted columns. For example, if the sheet
contains two columns - firstName and lastName, and the user sorts only the
firstName column in alpha order, the names are no longer properly associated.

Excel does not always warn the user that he is sorting only some of the
columns in the sheet.

Question: Is there a Best Practice for ensuring that users do not sort by
only some (not all) columns in a sheet? Or is there a best method for
ensuring that should the bad sort happen, the records can be returned to
their original state, even after a save?

Thanks in advance for your help ...

Bill

 

[ozgrid.com]

Always keep a spare copy and protect the Sheet from sorting.

 

[WCM]

Thank you, Dave. I beieve you are right about that. Seems the only remedy
would be to unlock all the cells in the sheet, then protect the sheet. But
this removes the ability to sort altogether, which is not ideal. Keeping
regular backup copies is probably the only practical answer.

Bill

 

[Dave Peterson]

You could give the users a macro to sort the data. Your macro would do the
unprotecting, sorting, and reprotecting.

I like this technique from Debra Dalgleish's site:
http://contextures.com/xlSort02.html#Rectangles
Sort With Invisible Rectangles